Don't Be Afraid
by AnteNomad
Summary: Rinoa's apprehension going into the battle with Galbadia Garden.


**Disclaimer:** _Final Fantasy VIII and all related characters, locations and funny-sounding words are copyright © 1998 by Square. This author owns nothing, and therefore makes absolutely no money through this publication. That means you can't either. Use of this material for profit-making purposes without the author's (my) consent is illegal and mean, while use of this material for profit-making purposes with the author's (my) consent is also illegal, which is why you'll never get my permission. This disclaimer applies whether you read it or not. All your base are belong to us.  
  
  
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**- — //=DON'T BE AFRAID=\\ — -  
**_by "Nomad"  
_

  
If Rinoa went right up to the railing at the edge of the Quad, she could look off to her right and see around the bulk of the Garden as it passed over the Centran forest; and ahead of them, there was its behemoth companion, Galbadia Garden, skimming along the treetops as it made directly for them. All around the two buildings, birds and animals were fleeing, as if they anticipated the confrontation which was about to take place.  
  
Rinoa could only watch the approaching Garden. Instead of the gentle, soothing whites of Balamb, Galbadia was a canvas of oranges and browns; and its profile was lower as well, with the glowing ring beneath tilted forward, making the building appear to her imagination like some great menacing beast, poised to lunge forward for the kill.  
  
The maddening slowness with which the two buildings closed the distance between each other gave fuel to her apprehension, as she envisioned the horrible clash that would occur when the two Gardens met. She glanced back at the ranks of students who stood with their sabers waiting for the battle, and could see that many bore expressions of worry and fear to match her own. These people had been trained in combat and the use of Para-Magic; Rinoa had been forced to learn by experience, and she still felt she couldn't match up to any of her companions.  
  
When she had heard the battle was coming, she had wanted to help, but now she was wondering, how much help could she possibly be? She wasn't a soldier like them; what if she just got in the way, like she had in Deling City? Would she even be able to handle herself in a fight? Just looking at the oncoming Garden, imagining the forces poised there, ready to strike, she was gripped with an oppressive apprehension, a feeling that she was not going to survive through the next few minutes. When that other Garden came close enough, their soldiers would begin the attack, and she would be surrounded and helpless and —  
  
A sharp _yip!_ caught her attention; she looked down to see a brown dog, looking at her with an almost questioning expression in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, Angelo," she said, kneeling down and putting her arms around the creature, burying her face in the dog's soft fur. A flood of relief ran through her; it felt good to have someone to hold on to. "We're gonna get through this, okay?"  
  
Angelo barked.  
  
Rinoa held on to the dog for a long moment before she stood again, scratching Angelo behind the ears with a smile.  
  
"Hey!" Zell had broken away from the students to approach her. "You okay, Rinoa?"  
  
"Yeah!" She nodded vigorously, attempting to mirror the young SeeD's confidence. "You can count on me! I promise!"  
  
"You sure?" Zell asked. "You look kinda scared."  
  
"I'm fine!" Rinoa insisted.  
  
"Hey, I'm not judging or anything," Zell said. "This is pretty intense. You know, there was this time in Dollet when this giant metal spider thing was chasin' after us, and —"  
  
"Zell!" Rinoa snapped. "I'm fine! Stop acting like I'm too weak just because I'm not a SeeD like you!"  
  
Zell took a step back, taken aback by Rinoa's words. Rinoa blinked, herself surprised by the force in her voice.  
  
"Hey," Zell said, looking a bit hurt. "I was just seein' if you were okay, that's all." Apparently not wishing to dwell on the subject, he took to throwing punches in the direction of the oncoming Galbadia Garden. "But I'll bet those Galbadian wimps are no match for these fists o'mine! We'll send 'em packing, and the chocobos they rode in on!"  
  
Rinoa looked away, unwilling to meet Zell's eyes. After another moment, Zell turned and walked away, back towards the assembled students. Angelo yipped at her as he left.  
  
"I know he was just trying to be nice," Rinoa said to the dog as she stepped away from the balcony. "But I hate it when people think I can't take care of myself. And I wish I wasn't so scared all the time. I wish I knew how Squall and everyone can make it look so easy."  
  
Angelo yipped in reply.  
  
There was a loud _clang!_ from the formation of students, and Rinoa looked up to see a young student, probably not older than fifteen, who had dropped his saber. As he scrambled to recover the weapon, she noticed that he was shaking badly, and he looked absolutely terrified.  
  
"Hey," she said, walking up to him. He jumped, as if expecting her to scold him for losing his grip on the weapon. "Relax," she said quickly, holding up her hand. "What's your name?"  
  
"Uh...." He was still looking at her as if he didn't know what to make of her. "T-Taylor."  
  
"I'm Rinoa." She stepped close and lowered her voice so that none of the others would hear. "You're scared, huh?"  
  
He nodded. "I-It's my first mission, and I'm only halfway through my combat training, and —"  
  
"Hey," she said, interrupting as it seemed he was about to lose all his composure. "Don't worry. I'm kind of scared, too." He glanced up at her as if she had just revealed some terrible family secret. "But all these people are here to help you," she motioned to the other students, "so just remember all that stuff they taught you, okay?" She placed her hand on his shoulder in her best effort to be reassuring. "You're not alone."  
  
Nodding, he smiled weakly. Rinoa thought he had relaxed a bit. "Thanks. I'll try."  
  
Rinoa smiled back. "I'm sure you'll do great."  
  
"All right, guys!" Zell called. "We're getting close! Get ready to kick some Galbadian _ass!_ "  
  
Giving the young student a reassuring clap on the shoulder, Rinoa returned to the edge of the balcony, once again staring down the oncoming Garden. She still felt more than a little nervous about the coming fight, but she was now more determined than ever to stand her ground.  
  
_I can do this,_ she told herself. _I'm not alone.  
  
  
_

- — = **= =** = — -  


  
**Author's Notes:  
**What this amounts to is me being very bored one afternoon and generally annoyed at the lack of progress with any of my serious writing projects. The story itself is essentially a missing-scene which functions as basically a character study of Rinoa and her reactions to the upcoming battle. Shortly before, in Trabia Garden, she had expressed her desire not to fight, and essentially admitted that she was afraid; but when the battle with Galbadia Garden is imminent, she appears in the Quad, announcing that she will fight, too — and promptly places herself in need of rescue once again. The conflict between her fear and her desire to help the others was supposed to be the focus of the scene; I'm of divided opinion on whether I did a good job of it. All told, this was really more an experimental peice for me to see how good a feel I could get for a character who has always been difficult for me to write; and I'm only posting it to justify the way I've wasted a good hour of my Sunday afternoon. Thanks for reading!  



End file.
